The present invention relates to a chair for a cableway system. The chair is provided with a closure bar, which can be pivoted into a closed position about an axis running transversely in the direction of travel of the chair, and which is preferably provided with a number of footrests that are assigned to the seats.
Prior art chairs for cableway systems have a load-bearing frame on which a plurality of seats arranged one beside the other are fastened and which is provided with a more or less vertically upwardly projecting load-bearing bar, at the top end of which there is arranged a clamping device via which it can be coupled to the supporting and haulage cable of a cableway system. It is additionally possible to provide at the top end of the load-bearing bar a running-gear mechanism by way of which the chair, after it has been uncoupled from the supporting and haulage cable in the stations, can be moved along guide rails, at a speed which is lower than the speed of the haulage cable, through the boarding and disembarking regions.
Furthermore, for the purpose of securing the users, the chair is designed with a closure bar which can be pivoted, about a pin directed more or less transversely to the direction of travel of the chair, from an open position, in which it is pivoted up in relation to the chair, into a closed position, the users of the chair being secured, in the closed position, against sliding off the chair. The closure bar is preferably formed with footrests. In addition, the chair may be designed with a covering hood which serves for protecting the users against harsh environments in wind and weather.
Prior art chairs of this type, however, do not meet all the necessary requirements insofar as they are configured and designed for adult users. In the case of adult users, when the closure bar is in the closed position, the vertical distance of the closure bar from the seat surface is small enough for the users to be secured against sliding off. When the chair is used by children, however, this distance is large enough for the children not to be secured to a sufficient extent against sliding off the chair.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a chair for a cableway system, which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices and methods of this general type and wherein, in the closed position of the closure bar, the chair users, irrespective of their height, that is to say in particular also children, are secured against sliding off the chair.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a chair assembly for a cableway system, comprising:
a chair formed with at least one seat;
a closure bar pivotally supported on the chair substantially transversely to a travel direction of the chair between a closed position and an open position;
a cam device disposed in a front region of the at least one seat, the cam device being coupled to the closure bar such that, when the closure bar is pivoted into the closed position, the cam device projects upward from a region substantially centrally and forward on the seat, i.e., the cam device is moved into a position substantially between the thighs of a person seated on the chair.
In other words, the objects of the invention are achieved in that, in the front region of each of the seatsxe2x80x94the chair has at least one seatxe2x80x94there is provided a cam, a tappet, a protrusion or the like (generically referred to as a cam device) which is coupled in terms of movement to the closure bar. When the closure bar is pivoted into its closed position, it is possible for the cam device to be adjusted between the thighs of the at least one user of the chair.
This protrusion or the like in particular can be pivoted about an axis that is oriented at least more or less parallel to the pivot axis of the closure bar.
It is preferable for the closure bar to be assigned at least one control cylinder, which can be actuated by the closure bar pivoting, and for the at least one protrusion or the like to be assigned an actuating cylinder, the control cylinder and the actuating cylinder being connected to one another via a pressure-medium line. It is possible here for the at least one control cylinder and the at least one actuating cylinder to be respectively located on the rear side and on the underside of the chair.
According to a preferred embodiment, the control cylinder is connected to a plurality of actuating cylinders via pressure-medium lines. It is possible here for the cam devices or the like of each seat to be assigned a dedicated actuating cylinder. Alternatively, a plurality of protrusions or the like are connected mechanically to one another for pivoting purposes, and each of these groups of protrusions or the like is each assigned a single actuating cylinder.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a chair for cableway systems, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.